Video processing apparatus and printing apparatus

ABSTRACT

It is an object of the present invention to provide a video processing apparatus which makes it possible to print a picture having an arbitrary size without forging an original picture. A video processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a print size selecting means  51  for selecting a print size of a printer  3  by selecting a size of a picture frame, a CPU  43  for determining the number of pixels of a video data corresponding to the selected print size, and a memory controller  33  for processing the video data in accordance with the number of pixels so that pixels of a video data output from a camera  1  should be in one-to-one correspondence with pixels of a video data to be printed by the printer  3 . It is not necessary to subject the original picture to video processings such as a decimating processing, an interpolation processing or the like. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a printed picture having an arbitrary size without forging an original data as required when an attesting photograph is taken.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a video processing apparatus, forexample, for printing an attesting photograph of an arbitrary size.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, an attesting photograph is attached to an identificationcard in order to identify a person. Generally, various restrictions areimposed on this attesting photograph because it should be strictlyhandled. For example, the size is designated and a front photographwithout any hat or cap is required and so on. These restrictions aredifferent depending on a kind of the attesting photograph. Specially,the designated sizes are different in every kind depending on its use orconvenience.

For example, the size of length and breadth of the attesting photographof a driving license of motor car is relatively small, whereas the sizeof length and breadth of the attesting photograph of passport isrelatively large. Further, the size of length and breath of theattesting photograph of passport is different in every country dependingon administrative or historical circumstances of each country. In themeantime, there was a video printer system for printing the ttestingphotograph attached to the identification card. Such video printersystem comprises, for example, a video camera, a video printer and acontroller for controlling them. This video printer system issystematized for purpose of the attesting photograph and installedfixedly in a booth. The color printer used in such a video camera systemis being replaced with a maintenance-free sublimation type printerinstead of a silver salt printer using chemicals so that there may be noneed to check frequently for maintenance because it is installed fixedlyin the booth.

Premising these background, the video printer for printing various kindsof attesting photographs has been in a situation that an individuallydifferent setting is reluctantly performed depending on theirspecifications. In other words, it is impossible for a single videoprinter to perform all settings for every specification and so there hasbeen no such a video printer to date.

Therefore, makers who systemize the above-mentioned video printer systemfor the attesting photograph's use is accustomed to choose the printerin accordance with a specification required by a user. Furthermore, inparticular, they used to alter the setting of an existing printer toprepare a custom-made equipment, if necessary.

The existing printer has a print size based on a unique print format.However, since the print format has no degree of freedom, it wasdifficult to obtain a print output of an arbitrary print size.Typically, various functions possessed by each printer, for example, ascreen dividing function was utilized to obtain the print output of therespective required print sizes.

However, with the conventional printer, the print output of a specificprint size that is predetermined by the screen dividing function can beobtained, by the print output of an arbitrary print size cannot beobtained even by the screen dividing function. Accordingly, theconventional printer cannot by adapted for the aforesaid print size ofthe attesting photograph and so there has been a particularinconvenience that it cannot deal with the print size of the attestingphotograph of the passport in every country.

Moreover, it is conceivable to perform a processing of expansion orreduction of a picture in the video printer so as to expand or reducethe picture size. However, in the expanding process, other data is addedto true data by an interpolation processing. In the reducing process,the true data is decimated for processing. Particularly, in a field ofthe attesting photograph for use with the passport or the drivinglicense, it is inhibited to process freely the true data or to process apicture at discretion by a government of each country because thereliability of the data is lost. That is to say, there has been aninconvenience that the processing of the picture at discretion insidethe printer for the arbitrary size should not be performed.

A monitor used in such a video camera system is usually positioned sothat horizontal sides may be longer than vertical sides. A on-screendisplay which is displayed on the monitor at this time, connected withcontrol for operating the color print is accustomed to e displayed inthe horizontal direction correspondingly to this position of themonitor.

In this manner, the conventional video camera system is arranged so thatthe on-screen display for operation the printer may correspond to onlythe scanning line direction of the monitor with the long horizontalsides (horizontally elongated). However, in the field of the attestingphotograph, those of vertically elongated size are often required.Accordingly, it is a practice that a picture which is rotated by 90° inadvance and then the vertically elongated picture is displayed on themonitor by rotating the monitor backward by 90°. However in this case,since the on-screen display is displayed in the scanning line direction,namely the vertical direction of the monitor, an operator is forced toturn his face horizontally. Thus, the on-screen display is hard for theoperator to read, so that there has been inconvenience that he cannotoperate the color printer smoothly.

Moreover, it is conceivable to provide a new controller used exclusivelyfor controlling the operation of the color printer, which controllercontrols to rotate the on-screen display so that it may be displayed ina direction perpendicular to the scanning line direction, namely thevertical direction of the monitor. However, this leads to an extensionof the control system, thereby causing inconvenience that theconfiguration and the control thereof are reduced complex.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing points, the present invention has been made andits object is to provide a video processing apparatus in which the printoutput of the arbitrary print size can be obtained.

A video processing apparatus according to the present invention includesan imaging means for imaging an object through an optical system toobtain an electric signal through conversion and outputting a signal asa video data, a display means for displaying a picture of the video datain a predetermined picture frame, a printing means for printing thepicture in the picture frame of the video data, a print size selectingmeans for selecting a print size of the picture to be printed by theprinting means, a pixel-number determining means for determining thenumber of pixels of the video data corresponding to the print sizeselected by the print size selecting means, and a video data processingmeans for processing the video data based on the number of pixelsdetermined by the pixel-number determining means so that the pixels ofthe video data output from the imaging means should be in one-to-onecorrespondence with the pixels of the video data printed by the printingmeans.

A printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printingapparatus for printing an image based on a source video data on aprinting paper and includes a storage means for storing the source videodata, a reading means for reading a video image stored in the storagemeans, a printing means for printing an image based on the video dataread out by the reading means on the printing paper, and a control meansfor controlling the reading means and the printing means so that pixelsof the source video data should be in one-to-one correspondence withpixels of the video data to be printed on the printing paper.

According to the video processing and the printing apparatus of thepresent invention, the following operations are carried out.

If an operator wants to select and set a print size by using a printsize selecting means, the operator uses the print size selecting meansto supply a set signal data corresponding to a set signal used forselecting the print size to the pixel number determining means. Thepixel number determining means uses a control data based on the setsignal data to thereby determine the number of pixels corresponding tothe set print size by calculation. The pixel number determining meansdetermines the number of horizontal-direction pixels based on a headdensity of the printing means and also determines the number ofvertical-direction pixels based on a transmission system of the videodata. The pixel number determining means calculates the samplingfrequency from the determined number of pixels.

The pixel number determining means supplies the set signal for the abovenumber of pixels and the sampling frequency to the video data processingmeans. The video data processing means processes the video data based onthe number of pixels determined by the pixel number determining means sothat the pixels of the video data output from the imaging means shouldbe in one-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the video data to beprinted by the printing means. The video data processing means uses thesame sampling frequency, based on the above sampling frequency, forsampling the pixels of the video data output from the imaging means andfor sampling the pixels of the video data to be printed by the printingmeans.

The horizontal and vertical cutting means of the video data processingmeans cuts the picture of the video data in the horizontal or verticaldirection based on the number of pixels determined by the pixel-numberdetermining means, thereby generating the window corresponding thenumber of pixels on the display means. The horizontal and verticalcutting means of the video data processing means cuts the picture of thevideo data in the horizontal or vertical direction based on the numberof pixels determined by the pixel-number determining means, therebypermitting the picture corresponding to the above number of pixels to beprinted.

As described above, the display means displays thereon the window basedon the cut signal from the horizontal and vertical cutting means andalso displays thereon the picture inside the window. The pixels of thevideo data displayed by the display means are decimated at apredetermined ratio with respect to the pixels of the video dataobtained by the image pickup of the imaging means. The picture displayedon the display means is used only for confirming whether or not thepicture is located in the window range set for indicating the printsize.

The printing means recognizes the print range of the picture based onthe cut signal from the horizontal and vertical cutting means. If theoperator issues a command to print the picture, since the horizontal andvertical cutting means of the video data processing means supplies thehorizontal and vertical cutting signal to the printing means, only theprint data formed of the pixels of the video data corresponding to thepixels of the video data in one-to-one correspondence are supplied tothe head thereof. Therefore, when the print size is selected through theprint size selecting means, it is possible to print the picture havingthe proper size without forging the video data obtained by the imagepickup of the imaging means.

In view of such aspects, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a video processing apparatus which carries out an on-screendisplay when a picture for an attesting photograph is displayed on amonitor having a picture frame which is long in the vertical direction.

A video processing apparatus includes an imaging means for imaging anobject through an optical system to obtain an electric signal byconversion and for outputting the electric signal as a video data, astorage means for storing the video data, a character data generatingmeans for generating a character data concerning control of the videodata, a display means for displaying a picture of the video data storedin the storage means and the character data generated by the characterdata generating means, and a printing means for printing the picturedisplayed on the display means based on the character data. When thepicture and the character are displayed on the display means, thecharacter is displayed with being rotated relative to the picture.

According to the video processing and the printing apparatus of thepresent invention, the following operations are carried out.

A fundamental function will be described. A video data is output fromthe imaging means and then stored in the storage means. Then, the videodata stored in the storage means is read out therefrom for display.Character data such as a menu screen, a setting item or the likesupplied from the character data generating means and used forcontrolling the printing means through operations thereof are mixed withthe video data stored in the storage means. The video data mixed withthe character data are supplied to the display means. Then, the videodata mixed with the character data are displayed on the display means.

The video data stored in the storage means is read out for the printingoperation. The video data read out therefrom is subjected to the gammaconversion processing and the signal conversion for the printingoperation to thereby be converted into the print data for three colorsY, M, C. The print data is printed by the printing means.

An operation of the on-screen display using the 90°-rotation font willbe described. When in this basic operation the control of the on-screendisplay using the 90°-rotation font is designated, the character datagenerating means reads out a 90°-rotation font control softwarededicated for carrying out the on-screen display by using the90°-rotation font in the on-screen display processing of the basicoperation based on the control signal for the on-screen display usingthe 90°-rotation font. The character data generating means supplies anaddress signal based on an address table to a font storage unit in orderto generate the characters formed of the 90°-rotation fonts based on the90°-rotation font control software, and reads out the 90°-rotation fontsto generate the 90°-rotation character data based thereon.

THe character data formed of the 90°-rotation character thus formed aremixed with the video data supplied form the storage means. Thus, thepicture and the characters for the on-screen display are displayed onthe display means. When the operator operates the printing means basedon this on-screen display, various control operations are carried out bythe printing means.

If the printing operation by the printing means is designated, the printdata is supplied to the printing means. Thus, if the operator sets theprinting control items based on the on-screen display displayed by usingthe 90°-rotation fonts in the lateral direction of the display meanswhich is long in the longitudinal direction, the printing operation canbe carried out in the set control state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an appearance of a video processingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a window of a monitor output of the videoprocessing according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of the video processingaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a print paper feed pitch and a samplingfrequency of the video processing according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a cut signal cutting circuit in a memorycontroller of the video processing according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing a timing of generating ahorizontal-direction cutting signal of the video processing according tothe embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a timing chartshowing a timing of generating a vertical-direction cutting signal ofthe video processing according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a cutting operation of the video processingaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a size setting menu of the video processingaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a system controllerof the video processing according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a normal font of the video processingaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a 90° rotation font of the video processingaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a monitor and an on-screen display of thevideo processing according to the embodiment of the present invention,wherein FIG. 13A is a diagram showing an on-screen display displayed ona monitor located with its long side in a horizontal direction and FIG.13B is a diagram showing an on-screen display displayed on a monitorlocated with its long side in a vertical direction; and

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a picture and the on-screen display in amonitor of the video processing according to the embodiment of thepresent invention, wherein FIG. 14A is a diagram showing the on-screendisplay with the normal font and FIG. 14B is a diagram showing theon-screen display with the 90° rotation font.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A video processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below. The video processing apparatusaccording to the present embodiment is to be utilized for taking theattesting photograph of IVP (Instant Video Portrait), etc. in a no man'sphotograph booth or a studio. Particularly, in the field of theattesting photograph, since the size of the attesting photograph of, forexample, the passport is different in every country, the counter measurefor replacing with the dividing function owned by the printer hasheretofore been attempted. However, since the attesting photograph ofvarious sizes are required by every country as the number of country tobe dealt with increases with an extension of market, the apparatus isarranged so that it may be possible to deal with the size of theattesting photograph of the passport of each country by providing afunction which presets to change the print size arbitrarily in amillimeter unit.

AS shown in FIG. 1, the video processing apparatus according to thepresent embodiment comprises a camera 1 for outputting picture data ofthree colors of R (red), G (green), B (blue) by imaging an object andthen performing a photoelectric conversion, a monitor 2 for displaying apicture based on the picture data supplied from the camera 1, and aprinter 3 for outputting a print of the picture displayed on the monitor2. In FIG. 1, the camera 1, the monitor 2 and the printer 3 areconstructed so as to be accommodated in one rack. In detail, the printer3 is provided in a central portion along a vertical direction of a rack4 in a manner that a front of the printer is exposed. On the frontportion of the printer 3, there are a power supply switch 5 serving alsoas a power supply switch of the entire video processing apparatus, a key6 for setting various print sizes and the like, a display portion 85made of LCD, etc. for displaying a setting item, and an outlet 8 fromwhich a print output is discharged.

The monitor 2 is arranged vertically elongated on a upper end face ofthe rack 4. In this case, the monitor 2 is arranged in a manner that adirection of scanning lines coincides with the vertical direction and itis slightly oblique upward form the front to the top. The reasontherefore is that the attesting photograph is usually taken so as to bevertically elongated because it is to photograph a face and an upperhalf body of a person to be identified, thus making it easier for anoperator to check the picture by comparing between the print output andthe display screen of the monitor. In this case, the vertical directionof the scanning lines of the monitor 2 corresponds to a main scanningdirection (direction of a head element) of the printer 3 and thehorizontal direction of the monitor 2 corresponds to a sub-scanningdirection (forwarding direction) of the printer 3. The monitor 2displays a picture as well as a picture frame called a window indicationof a present print size. At this time, a picture portion outside thewindow of the picture to be displayed on the monitor 2 is masked, sothat only a picture inside the window is displayed. In this way, theapparatus is arranged that the picture size is varied.

Furthermore, an upright post 9 is planted beside the monitor 2 on theupper end face of the rack 4, to which post 9 a camera 1 is fixedthrough an adjuster 10 so as to be movable in a vertical direction. Thecamera 1 is movable in the vertical direction due to the verticalmovement of the adjuster 10 and at the same time the camera is rotatablerelative to the adjuster 10. The camera 1 has the zoom function and isarranged to supply the picture data to the monitor 2 and the printer 3through a cable 11. Also, a cabinet 12 is provided in lower portion ofthe rack 4 in a manner that the cabinet can receive inside thereof anecessary equipment such as a manual and the like by opening a frontdoor. A caster 13 is fixed at four corners in a bottom portion of therack, thereby causing the apparatus to be movable.

The video processing apparatus as constructed above will work by thefollowing operations. In advance, an operator adjusts the cameraposition by making the adjuster 10 relative to the post 9 planted on theupper end face of the rack 4 to move the camera 1 appropriately in thevertical direction. Having adjusted the camera position, the operatorturns on the power supply switch 5 of the printer 3 provided in thecenter of the rack 4 in order to make the video processing apparatus tobegin its operation. First of all, the operator key-inputs the printsize of an attesting photograph using the key 6 of the printer 3. Inthis case, it is possible to set the print size in a millimeter unit inboth vertical/horizontal directions.

Then, the camera 1 images an object to supply its picture data of RGB tothe monitor 2. The monitor 2 displays the picture of the object based onthe picture data. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the monitor 2 displays apicture 20, a window 21 indicating a preset print size, and settingitems 22. In the setting items 22, X=51 mm indicates a horizontal lengthof the picture 20 to be printed, Y=51 mm indicates a vertical length,thereof 2PCS/PRINT indicates that two pieces of picture can be takenfrom one sheet of print pater, and QTY=2 indicates to print two sheetsin total. Accordingly, if three pieces of print are desired, it isenough to print two sheets. The operator confirms whether or not thepicture 20 is displayed in a proper condition within the frame of thewindow 21 while viewing the monitor 2. In this case, if the picture sizeis not appropriate relative to the set window 21, a controller thoughnot shown adjusts, the zoom function of the camera 1 for changing itinto an appropriate picture size. Also, the operator may change thepicture size manually.

In this way, the monitor 2 displays the picture 20 of the appropriatesize within the window 21 of the preset print size. Then, the operatorhandles the key 6 of the printer 3 for causing the printer 3 to carryout a printing operation, thereby allowing the print output to beobtained from the outlet 8. Therefore, as is indicated by the settingitems 22 in FIG. 2, two pictures are printed on one sheet of printpaper, so that the print output becomes two pieces.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, an internal configuration of the videoprocessing apparatus described above will be explained. In FIG. 1, thevideo processing apparatus comprises the camera 1 for outputting thepicture data of RGB, A/D converters 31R, 31G, 31B for converting thepicture data of RGB into digital picture data, a memory 32 comprised ofa DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) for storing four frames of thedigital picture data per RGB, a memory controller 33 for controllingread/write of the digital picture data with respect to the memory 32, amemory CPU 34 for supplying a control signal to the memory controller 33to control its operation, a color pallet 36 for monitor forcolor-correcting the digital picture data read out of the memory 32 forthe monitor display, a D/A converter 37 for converting thecolor-corrected digital picture data into analogue picture data, acharacter mixer circuit 38 for mixing the analogue picture data withcharacters of a menu display and the setting items, or the like and themonitor 2 for displaying both the picture and the characters on thebasis of the analogue picture data mixed with the characters.

Here, the camera 1 has a zoom function 2 forming a picture size changingmeans 3. The memory controller 33 has a horizontal and vertical cuttingmeans 39 for supplying a cut signal to the D/A converter 37 to make anoutput of the D/A converter 37 active or negative, thereby causing awindow to be displayed on the monitor 2. The monitor 2 includes a windowdisplay means 40.

In addition, the video processing apparatus comprises a color pallet 41for printer which color-corrects the digital picture data read out ofthe memory 32 for the printer display, a color generator circuit 42which generates the digital picture data of three colors of Y (yellow),M (magenta), and C (cyan) by applying a signal conversion such as thegamma conversion or the like to the color-corrected digital picturedata, and the printer 3 of the thermal transfer system of thesublimation type. The printer 3 includes a head controller 43 forgenerating the print data based on the cut signal form the digitalpicture data of YMC, a head 44 for sticking a sublimation dye of highsensitivity which is applied to an ink ribbon heated by a thermalelement based on the print data to a print paper, a mechanicalcontroller 45 for generating a mechanical driving signal by controldata, a platen motor 46 driven to rotate based on the driving signal,and a platen 48 which is rotated by the platen motor 46 to feed theprint paper to the head 44 and discharges the paper therefrom and whichpresses the paper together with the head 44.

Also, the video processing apparatus comprises the key 6 for inputtingvarious setting items and operation specifying items, a systemcontroller 49 for supplying control signals to the camera 1, the monitor2 and the printer 3 to control their operations, and an interfacecircuit 50 comprised of an RS-232C for interfacing with the outside. Inthis connection, the key 6 includes a print size selecting means 51 forselecting the size of a window displayed on the monitor 2 by selectingthe window size so as to select the print size of the print output ofthe printer 3.

The print size selecting means 51 is able to change the horizontallength and the vertical length of the picture in the monitor 2 to anextent that X=16 to 51 mm and Y=16 to 70 mm in a unit of several pixels.The window size change by the key 6 may be performed by inputting anumerical values for X and Y directly, or by displaying the numericalvalue in the display portion with an upkey or a downkey. Further, it maybe arranged that a memory is provided inside the print size selectingmeans 51 so that the print size of the attesting photograph of thepassport in every country is made to be stored in the memory, therebycausing the various print sizes to be incremented in the display portionevery time the key 6 is depressed.

If an operator visually determines that the size of the picturedisplayed on the monitor 2 is not appropriate relative to the size ofthe window, the operator adjusts the zoom function 30 and therebychanges the picture size into the appropriate one by enlarging reducingthe picture size. In this case, the decision of the picture size isperformed on the basis of a decision criterion that a face including theupper half body should range from a half to two thirds relative to thesize required by the attesting photograph and also on the basis of thepicture data.

Here, the camera 1 constitutes the imaging means for imaging an objectthrough an optical system to convert the image into an electrical signalfor outputting it as picture data. The memory 32 constitutes the storagemeans for storing the picture data. The monitor 2 constitutes thedisplay means for displaying the picture of the picture data stored inthe storage means within the window as the predetermined picture frame.The printer 3 constitutes the printer means for printing the picturewithin the picture frame of the picture data stored in the storagemeans. The key 6 includes the print sizes selecting means 51. Thezooming function 30 of the camera 1 is arranges so as to be able tochange the picture size by adjusting the optical system.

Moreover, the picture frame in the monitor 2 as the display means is thewindow of a quadrilateral in which vertical and horizontal frames aresymmetrical relative to a display area of the display means, and thedisplay means includes the window display means 40. An operation of thevideo processing apparatus configured in this way will be explained.First of all, a basic operation will be described. The RGB picture dataoutput from the camera 1 are supplied to the A/D) converters 31R, 31Gand 31B. The A/D converters 31R, 31G and 31B convert the analoguepicture data into the digital picture data for subsequent processing andsupply them to the memory controller 33. The memory controller 33processes them so that the digital picture data for four frames of thepicture may be stored in the memory 32. This operation is referred to ascapture. The number of sampling dots obtained when the digital videodata from the camera 1 are stored (captured) in the memory 32 by thememory controller 33 correspond to the number of sampling dots of thevideo data read out from the memory 33 by the memory controller 33 andused for printing by the printer 3 in one-to-one correspondence. Next,the memory controller 33 processes so that the digital picture datastored in the memory 32 may be read for the monitor display. Thisoperation is referred to as monitor out. The digital picture data readout are supplied to the color pallet 36 for the monitor. The colorpallet 36 for the monitor performs a color-correcting processing of suchas a sharpness on the digital picture data for the monitor display. Thecolor-corrected digital picture data are supplied to the D/A converter37. The D/A converter 37 converts the digital picture data into ananalogue picture data for the monitor display. The analogue picture dataare supplied to the character mixer circuit 9. The character mixercircuit 38 mixes the analogue picture data with character data fordisplaying characters of a menu screen or the setting items, etc. fromthe system controller 49. The analogue picture data mixed with thecharacters are supplied to the monitor 2. The monitor 2 displays thepicture data.

Also, the memory controller 33 processes the digital picture data storedin the memory 32 to be read for printing out. This operation is referredto as print data outputting. The number of sampling dots obtained whenthe digital video data from the camera 1 are stored (captured) in thememory 32 by the memory controller 33 correspond to the number ofsampling dots of the video data read out from the memory 33 by thememory controller 33 and used for printing by the printer 3 inone-to-one correspondence. The read digital picture data are supplied tothe color pallet 41 for the printer. The color pallet 41 for the printerperforms the color-correcting processing for printing out on the digitalpicture data. The color-corrected digital picture data are supplied tothe color generating circuit 42. The color generating circuit 42converts the data into the print data for printing of YMC by the gammaconversion or other signal conversion. The print data for printing aresupplied to the head controller 43 of the printer 3. The head controller43 PWM modulates parallel print data of every one line into 256 tones inthe main scanning direction (direction of horizontal synchronizingsignal H). The parallel print data of every one line PWM modulated aresupplied to the head 44.

The mechanical controller 45 sets a mechanical forwarding pitchdepending on a difference of the picture data from the camera 1, i.e.NTSC system or PAL system under the control of the system controller 49.A driving signal for the mechanical forwarding pitch is supplied to theplaten motor 46. The platen motor 46 rotates the platen 48 in the presetmechanical forwarding pitch. Since a rotary position of the platen 27 isdetected by a sensor not shown and is fed back to the mechanicalcontroller 45, it is possible to make a correct positioning. Then, ifthe print paper has been carried to a print position by the rotation ofthe platen 48, the head 44 presses an ink ribbon and the print pateragainst the platen 48 for printing. Firstly, Y printing is performed.After Y printing has been completed, the head 44 is caused to beseparate from the platen 48, and then the print paper and the ink ribbonare forwarded fast for a head searching. In this way, M printing and Cprinting are also performed.

Next, an operation of changing the picture size will be described. Insuch a basic operation, when the operator wishes to set for changing thewindow size by the print size selecting means 51 of the key 6, theoperator uses the print size selecting means 51 of the key 6 to supplythe setting signal data to the system controller 49. Specifically, theoperator directly input values corresponding to X and Y by using theprint size selecting means 51 of the key 6 or display the values on thedisplay unit by using the up key or the down key. Alternatively, amemory for storing a print size of attesting photograph of a passportfor each country is provided in the print size selecting means 51,various print sizes displayed on the display unit are incremented everytime when the key 6 is pressed, the setting signal used for selectingthe print size is supplied to the system controller 49 in response tothe number of the press of the key 6.

The system controller 49 generates the setting signal data correspondingto the supplied setting signal and supplies the setting signal data tothe CPU 34. The CPU 34 reads out the control data based on the settingsignal data from the memory 35 and determines the number of pixelscorresponding to the print size based on the calculation of the controldata. Specifically, the CPU 334 determines the number ofhorizontal-direction pixels based on the head density of the printer 3and determines the number of vertical-direction pixels based on atransmission system of the video data. The CPU 34 calculates thesampling frequency from the pixel number.

How the CPU 34 determines the number of pixels and calculates thesampling frequency will hereinafter be described. Moreover, in theattesting photograph, since the picture is required to be clear and notto forge the original picture, it is arranged that pixels of the videodata obtained by image pickup of the camera 1 as described above is in aone-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the printer 3 for the sizein which one side ranges, e.g. from 16 [mm] to 50 [mm]. In order to makethe pixels of the video data obtained by image pickup of the camera 1 tobe in such a one-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the printer 3,the still picture control apparatus according to the present embodimentis arranged particularly so that the mechanical forwarding pitch and thesampling frequency may be established for the exclusive use of theprinter 3. At this time, the density of the head element is madeapproximately 250 [DPI] to 330 [DPI] in consideration of the mechanicalforwarding matched to the sampling frequency. In this way, theinterpolation of the size, etc. inside the printer 23 may not be needed.

An example of calculating the mechanical forwarding pitch and thesampling frequency in a case where the density of the head element isabout 305 [DPI] will be shown below. As indicated in FIG. 4, in case ofUSA passport size, for video signal of NTSC system, since the length ofthe picture in the forwarding direction X=51 [mm] corresponds to 485dots of pixel and the length of the picture in the direction of the headelement Y=51 [mm] corresponds to 615 dots of pixel, the number of dotsin H (horizontal image period, or head element) direction is equal to 51[mm]/0.083=615 dots, because the head density per one inch is2.54/305=0.083. The mechanical forwarding pitch in V (vertical imageperiod, or forwarding) direction is equal to 51 [mm]/485 dots=0.10515[mm].

Further, since the effective screen area in H (head element) directionequals 52.655 [μsec]×¾=39.5 [μsec], the sampling frequency in H (headelement) direction is found to be 39.5 [μsec]/615=15.573070 [MHz]. Thissampling frequency serves as the frequency for acquiring the pictureinto the window.

The CPU 34 supplies the setting signal for the above number of pixelsand the sampling frequency to the memory controller 333. The memorycontroller 33 processes the video data based on the number of pixelsdetermined by the CPU 34 so that the pixels of the video data outputfrom the camera 1 should be in one-to-one correspondence with the pixelsof the video data to be printed by the printer 3. Based on the abovesampling frequency, the memory controller 33 samples pixels of the videodata output from the camera 1 and the pixels of the video data to beprinted by the printer 3 by using the same sampling frequency.

The horizontal and vertical cutting means 39 of the memory controller 33cuts the picture of the video data in the horizontal or verticaldirection in accordance with the number of pixels determined by the CPU34, thereby generating a window corresponding to the above number ofpixels on the monitor 2. The horizontal and vertical cutting means 39 ofthe memory controller 33 cuts the picture of the video data in thehorizontal or vertical direction in accordance with the number of pixelsdetermined by the CPU 34, thereby permits the printer 3 to print apicture corresponding to the above number of pixels.

Specifically, the horizontal and vertical cutting means 39 of the memorycontroller 33 generates a cut signal BLNK used for cutting an imagehaving the above number of pixels based on the setting signal suppliedthereto from the CPU 34, and supplies the cut signal BLNK to the D/Aconverter 37 at the preceding stage of the monitor 2 and the headcontroller 43 of the printer 3. The D/A converter 37 outputs an analogvideo data obtained after D/A conversion when the cut signal BLNK isactive, and does not output the analog video data obtained after D/Aconversion when the cut signal BLNK is negative. Thus, the window basedon the cut signal is displayed on the monitor 2. An image is displayedinside the window. The pixels of the video data displayed on the monitor2 are decimated in a predetermined ratio relative to the pixels of thevideo data obtained by the image pickup of the camera 1, e.g.,resolution of the monitor. The image displayed on the monitor 2 is usedonly for confirming whether or not the image is located within thewindow set in accordance with the print size.

The head controller 43 prints the video data when the cut signal BLNK isactive and does not print the video data when the cut signal BLNK isnegative. Thus, the head controller 43 recognizes the print range of thepicture based on the cut signal. If the operator presses the key 6 todesignate the print-out operation, then the horizontal and vertical cutsignals BLNK are supplied from the memory controller 33 to the headcontroller 43 of the printer 33 and hence only the print data formed ofpixels of the video data corresponding to the pixels of the video dataobtained by the image pickup of the camera 1 in one-to-onecorrespondence is supplied to the head 44. Thus, it is possible to printthe picture of a proper size by selecting a print size by the print sizeselecting means 51 without forging the video data obtained by the imagepickup of the camera 1.

If the operator visually determines that the size of the picturedisplayed on the monitor 2 is not appropriate relative to the size ofthe window, the operator adjusts the zoom function 30 and therebychanges the picture size into the appropriate one by enlarging reducingthe picture size. THe picture of the proper size obtained after changeof the picture size is printed. In this case, the decision of thepicture size is performed on the basis of a decision criterion that aface including the upper half body should range from a half to twothirds relative to the size required by the attesting photograph andalso on the basis of the picture data.

In the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment, when theoperator visually determines that the picture size displayed on themonitor 2 is not appropriate relative to the size of the window, theoperator adjusts the zooming function 30 of the camera 1 to therebychange the picture size to the proper picture size by enlarging orreducing the picture in size. However, a picture size determining meansis provided in the system controller 49 to automatically determine andchange the picture size.

At this time, the system controller 49 recognizes the setting signaldata from the print size selecting means 51, which is the original datato produce the window. The system controller 49 also recognizes theanalogue picture data displayed on the monitor 2. Then, the picture sizedeciding means of the system controller 49 supplies the picture sizechanging signal to the zoom function 30 of the camera 1, which signal isto make the picture size smaller or larger as the size of the picturedisplayed on the monitor 2 is much larger or much smaller than the sizeof the window. The zoom function 30 is adjusted by causing thepredetermined driving mechanism to work for changing the picture size.Thus, the picture of the size which is proper relative to the windowspecifying the print size is displayed on the monitor 2.

Again, the horizontal and vertical cutting means 39 inside the memorycontroller 33 shown in FIG. 1 is, more particularly, comprised of, forexample, a cut signal generator circuit as shown in FIG. 5. Referring toFIG. 5, the cut signal generator circuit includes a horizontal cuttingmeans 60 for producing a cut signal in the horizontal synchronizingsignal HD direction, a vertical cutting means 70 for producing a cutsignal in the vertical synchronizing signal VD direction, and a firstNAND circuit 79 of two input negative logic for outputting a horizontalcut signal HBLNK or a vertical cut signal VBLNK.

The horizontal cutting means 60 includes a first counter 61 for loadingthe horizontal synchronizing signal HD to count it with a sampling clockSC, a first comparator 62 for comparing an output of the counter 61 witha horizontal shift signal H-shift, a second comparator 63 for comparingthe output of the counter 61 with a horizontal size signal H-size, afirst D flip-flop 64 for latching an output of the first comparator 62,a second D flip-flop 65 for latching an output of the second comparator63, an invertor 66 for inverting an output of the second D flip-flop 65,a second NAND circuit 67 of two input negative logic which outputs anactive low signal if both the output of the first D flip-flop 64 and theoutput of the invertor 66 are of low level, and a third D flip-flop 38for latching the output of the second NAND circuit 67 to output it witha clock CK as the horizontal cut signal HBLNK.

Also, the vertical cutting means 70 includes a second counter 71 forlading the vertical synchronizing signal VD to count it with thesampling clock SC, a third comparator 72 for comparing an output of thecounter 71 with a vertical shift signal V_shift, a fourth comparator 73for comparing an output of the counter 71 with a vertical size signalV_size, a fourth D flip-flop 74 for latching an output of the thirdcomparator 72, a fifth D flip-flop 75 for latching an output of thefourth comparator 73, an invertor 76 for inverting an output of thefifth D flip-flop 75, a third NAND circuit 77 of two input negativelogic which outputs an active low signal if both the output of thefourth D flip-flop 74 and the output of the invertor 76 are of lowlevel, and a sixth D flip-flop 48 for latching the output of the thirdNAND circuit 77 to output it with the clock CK as the vertical squaringsignal VBLNK.

An operation of the cut signal generator circuit arranged in this waywill be explained with reference to time charts of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.First of all, an operation of the horizontal cutting means 30 will bedescribed. In A of FIG. 3, when the horizontal synchronizing signal HDfalls to a low level, the first counter 61 shown in FIG. 2 begins tocount the sampling click SC shown in FIG. 6B from that falling edge andthen the count output is supplied to an input terminal A of the firstcomparator 62. The H shift setting signal preset by the print sizeselecting means 51 shown in FIG. 1 is supplied to an input terminal B ofthe first comparator. In the first comparator 62, when the count outputcoincides with the H shift setting signal, an output signal is outputfrom an output terminal EQ. This output signal is supplied to a clockterminal of the first D flip-flop 64. Since an input terminal D of thefirst D flip-flop 64 is supplied with an earth potential of a low level,an output of the low level is output from a output terminal Q accordingto the clock. Then, the horizontal shift signal H shift shown in FIG. 6Cis output from the first D flip-flop 64. As shown in FIG. 6C, thehorizontal shift signal H shift falls from a high level to a low levelwhen the H shift setting signal coincides with a value of the firstcounter 61, and is reset from the low level to the high level when thehorizontal synchronizing signal HD falls to the low level.

Again, the count output of the first counter 61 is supplied to an inputterminal A of the second comparator 63. The H size setting signal presetby the print size selecting means 51 shown in FIG. 1 is supplied to aninput terminal B of the second comparator. In the second comparator 63,when the count output coincides with the H size setting signal, anoutput signal is output from the output terminal EQ. This output signalis supplied to a clock terminal of the second D flip-flop 65. Since aninput terminal D of the second D flip-flop 65 is supplied with the earthpotential of a low level, an output of the low level is output from anoutput terminal Q according to the clock, which output is inverted bythe invertor 66. Then, from the invertor 66 the horizontal size signal Hsize shown in FIG. 6D is output. As shown in FIG. 6D, the horizontalsize signal H size rises from the low level to the high level when the Hsize setting signal coincides with a value of the first counter 61, andis reset form the high level to the low level when the horizontalsynchronizing signal HD falls to the low level.

Since both the horizontal shift signal H shift shown in FIG. 6C which isthe output signal of the first D flip-flop 64 and the horizontal sizesignal H size shown in FIG. 6D which is the output signal of theinvertor 66 are supplied to the second NAND circuit 67, from this secondNAND circuit 67 an active low output signal is output when both thehorizontal shift signal H shift in FIG. 6C and the horizontal sizesignal H size in FIG. 6D are of the low level. The output signal of theNAND circuit 67 is supplied to the third D flip-flop 38, by which thirdD flip-flop 38 the signal is latched based on the clock signal CK and isreshaped in wave form. Thereafter, the active low horizontal cut signalHBLNK shown in FIG. 6E will be output.

Next, an operation of the vertical cutting means 70 will described. InFIG. 7A, when the vertical synchronizing signal VD falls to a low level,the second counter 71 shown in FIG. 2 begins to count at that fallingedge the horizontal synchronizing signal HD shown in FIG. 7B and thenthe count output is supplied to an input terminal A of the thirdcomparator 72. The V shift setting signal preset by the print sizeselecting means 51 shown in FIG. 1 is supplied to an input terminal B ofthe third comparator. In the third comparator 72, when the count outputcoincides with the V shift setting signal, an output signal is outputfrom its output terminal EQ. This output signal is supplied to a clockterminal of the fourth D flip-flop 74. Since an input terminal D of thefourth D flip-flop 74 is supplied with the earth potential of the lowlevel, an output of the low level is output from an output terminal Qaccording to the clock. Then, the vertical shift signal V shift shown inFIG. 7C is output from the fourth D flip-flop 74. As shown in FIG. 7C,the vertical shift signal V shift falls from the high level to the lowlevel when the V shift setting signal coincides with a value of thesecond counter 71, and is reset from the low level to the high levelwhen the vertical synchronizing signal VD falls to the low level.

Again, the count output of the second counter 71 is supplied to an inputterminal A of the fourth comparator 73. The V size setting signal presetby the print size selecting means 51 shown in FIG. 1 is supplied to aninput terminal B of the fourth comparator. In the fourth comparator 73,when the count output coincides with the V size setting signal, anoutput signal is output from the output terminal EQ. This output signalis supplied to a clock terminal of the fifth D flip-flop 75. Since aninput terminal D of the fifth D flip-flop 75 is supplied with the earthpotential of the low level, an output of the low level is output from anoutput terminal Q according to the clock, which output is inverted bythe invertor 76. Then, from the invertor 76 the vertical size signal Vsize shown in FIG. 7D is output. As shown in FIG. 7D, the vertical sizesignal V size rises from the low level to the high level when the V sizesetting signal coincides with a value of the second counter 71, and isreset from the high level to the low level when the verticalsynchronizing signal VD falls to the low level.

Since both the vertical shift signal V shift shown in FIG. 7C which isthe output signal of the fourth D flip-flop 74 and the vertical sizesignal V size shown in FIG. 7D which is the output signal of theinvertor 76 are supplied to the third NAND circuit 77, from this thirdNAND circuit 77 an active low output signal is output when both thevertical shift signal V shift shown in FIG. 7C and the vertical sizesignal V size shown in FIG. 7D are on the low level. The output signalof the third NAND circuit 77 is latched by the sixth D flip-flop 48based on the clock signal CK, from which flip-flop 48 the active lowvertical cut signal VBLNK shown in FIG. 7E will be output.

At the final stage, both the horizontal cut signal HBLNK from thehorizontal cutting means 60 and the vertical cut signal VBLNK from thevertical cutting means 70 are supplied to the first NAND circuit 79.Therefore, from the first NAND circuit 79, both the active lowhorizontal cut signal HBLNK and the active low vertical cut signal VBLNKwill be output.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, the quarrying operation carried out by thehorizontal cut signal HBLNK and the vertical cut signal VBLNK will bedescribed. In FIG. 8, a mask area 80 indicated by oblique lines from anend portion of the monitor 2 to a center thereof 82 is established,where the back of particular color (e.g. blue) is displayed. A picture81 of an object is displayed in the middle portion of the screen, whosepicture size is altered. In other words, the horizontal cut signal HBLNKproduced based on the horizontal synchronizing signal HD is supplied tothe D/A converter 37 at the previous stage of the monitor 2. Then, thehorizontal cut signal HBLNK makes the output of the D/A converter 37active or negative, so that the window will be displayed on the monitor2.

In the vertical direction of the monitor 2, an area where the horizontalcut signal HBLNK is of the high level, of the image period in thehorizontal direction (H, 52.655 [μsec] for NTSC system, 52.000 [μsec]for PAL system. From the center 52 to the end portion of the monitor:26.328 [μsec] for NTSC system, 26.000 [μsec] for PAL system) will formthe masking area 50. An area where the horizontal cut signal HBLNK is ofthe low level will form a display area where the picture 51 with thealtered size will be displayed.

Also, in the horizontal direction of the monitor 2, an area where thevertical cut signal VBNK is of the high level, of the image period inthe vertical direction (V, 242.5 H for NTSC system, 287.5 H for PALsystem. From the center 52 to the end portion of the monitor: 121 H forNTSC system, 143 H for PAL system) will form the masking area 80. Anarea where the vertical cut signal VBLNK of on the low level will form adisplay area where the picture 51 with the altered size is displayed.

In this case, the display are of the picture 81 with the altered sizewhere the horizontal cut signal HBLNK is of the low level in thevertical direction of the monitor 2 corresponds to a print area 53 ofthe printer 3. This vertical direction becomes the direction of a headelement, namely the main scanning direction. Also, the display area ofthe picture 81 with the altered size where the vertical cut signal VBLNKis of the low level in the horizontal direction of the monitor 2corresponds to a print area 84 of the printer 3. This horizontaldirection becomes the mechanical forwarding direction, namely thesub-scanning direction.

In this way, the display area whose size is varied is displayed on themonitor 2 as shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, an area surrounded by thewindow 21 of a thick solid line on the monitor 2 forms the display areaof the picture 20 according to the varied size. A size of the window 21can be preset on the basis of above horizontal cut signal HBLNK andvertical cut signal VBLNK. Depending on the preset size of the window21, the picture within the display area is adjusted to that of theproper size through the zoom function 30 of the camera 1. In the settingitem 22 in underpart of the monitor 2, there are displayed thehorizontal and vertical sizes of the display area in the monitor 2 dueto the window 21:X=51 [mm] and Y=51 [mm], the number of pieces in whichthe picture of this size is printed on one sheet of printpaper:2PCS/PRINT, and the number of whole print papers forprinting:QTY=2.

In the video processing apparatus according to the this embodiment,since the pixels of the picture data printed by the printer 3 are madeto be in the one to one correspondence with the pixels of the picturedata displayed in the window 21 on the monitor 2, it is possible toobtain the printed picture in which the original picture is reflected asit is, without forging the picture data.

Furthermore, due to the requirement of the attesting photographdescribed above, it is arranged that the picture having the size fittedto the print size of the printer 3 is displayed on the monitor 2. Thepixels of the video data displayed on the monitor 2 are decimated in apredetermined ratio relative to the pixels of the video data to beprinted by the printer 3. In other words, the monitor 2 indicates whatsize of the print will be issued by the printer 3 from the currentpicture displayed on the monitor 2. Accordingly, it is arranged that ifthe print size is altered, then the size of the picture displayed on themonitor 2 is correspondingly altered. In face, the picture size printedby the printer 3 differs from the picture size displayed on the monitor2, but it is arranged that the both sizes are in a proportionalrelationship.

Thus, according to this embodiment, as described above, an arbitraryprint size can be selected, thereby allowing any size of print to beobtained irrespective of conditions of the video signal and uniquemechanical conditions of the printer 3. In this case, when the attestingphotograph of passport is desired, the print size can be preset for thepassport. When the attesting photograph of driving license is desired,the print size can be preset for the driving license. In this way, it ispossible to obtain the appropriate size of picture depending on thepreset print size.

Furthermore, the video processing apparatus according to the presentembodiment is able to cope with various attesting photographs that aredifferent in each country all over the world. Particularly, by storing,in advance, an operation software based on preset values of multipleprint sizes corresponding to the attesting photograph of each country inthe system controller 49, and reading out the stored contents through aneasy operation to enable the various sizes to be selected, it ispossible to cope with the attesting photograph of each country.

The video processing apparatus according to this embodiment includes thecamera 1 as an imaging means for imaging an object through the opticalsystem to obtain an electric signal through conversion and outputtingthe signal as the video data, the monitor 2 as a display means fordisplaying a picture of the video data in a predetermined picture frame,the printer 3 as a printing means for printing the picture in thepicture frame of the video data, the print size selecting means 51 forselecting a print size of the picture to be printed by the printingmeans, the CPU 43 as a pixel-number determining means for determiningthe number of pixels of the video data corresponding to the print sizeselected by the print size selecting means 51, and the memory controller33 as a video data processing means for processing the video data basedon the number of pixels determined by the above pixel-number determiningmeans so that the pixels of the video data output from the imaging meansshould be in one-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the video dataprinted by the printing means. Therefore, since the size of the pictureframe is selected regardless of conditions of the printing means and soon and thereby the picture size is selected with confirmation of thepicture range using the display means to thereby prevent the originalpicture from being subjected to the video processing such as thedecimating processing, the interpolation processing or the like, it ispossible to obtain a printed picture having an optional size withoutforging the video data as requested by the attesting photograph.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment theCPU 34 as the pixel-number determining means determines the number ofhorizontal-direction pixels based on the head density of the printingmeans, it is possible to obtain the printed picture having the size ofthe optional number of horizontal-direction pixels without forging theoriginal video data.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment theCPU 34 as the pixel-number determining means determines the number ofvertical-direction pixels based on the transmission system of the videodata, it is possible to obtain the printed picture having the size ofthe optional number of vertical-direction pixels without forging theoriginal video data.

Since the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment isprovided with the horizontal and vertical cutting means 39 for cuttingthe picture of the video data in the horizontal direction or thevertical direction based on the number of pixels determined by the CPU34 as the pixel-number determining means to thereby generate the pictureframe corresponding to the above number of pixels on the monitor 2 asthe display means, it is possible to confirm the printing rangecorresponding to the number of pixels on the displaying means.

Since the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment isprovided with the horizontal and vertical cutting means 39 for cuttingthe picture of the video data in the horizontal direction or thevertical direction based on the number of pixels determined by the CPU34 as the pixel-number determining means to thereby print the picturecorresponding to the number of pixels in the printer 3 as the printingmeans, it is possible to permit the printing means to print the picturecorresponding to the number of pixels.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment thememory controller 33 as the video processing means uses the samesampling frequency for sampling the pixels of the video data output fromthe camera 1 as the imaging means and sampling the pixels of the videodata to be printed by the printer 3 as the printing means, it ispossible to sample the pixels of the video data so that the pixels ofthe video data output from the imaging means should reliably be inone-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the video data to beprinted by the printing means.

Since the video processing apparatus according to this embodimentdecimates the pixels of the video data displayed on the monitor 2 as thedisplay means in a predetermined ratio relative to the video dataobtained by the image pickup of the camera 1 as the imaging means, it ispossible to use the display means having lower resolution as comparedwith that of the printer 3 as the printing means, only for use inconfirmation of the printing range of the picture.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment theprint size selecting means 51 directly sets values by input using thekey, it is possible to set the print size based on the values directlyselected and set by the operator.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment theprint size selecting means 51 selects one from a plurality of presetvalues, it is possible to set the print size based on the selectivelyset values indicative of a specific size or the like.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to this embodiment thecamera 1 as the imaging means has the zooming function 30 for adjustingthe zooming operation of the optical system, it is not necessary tosubject the original picture to the video processing such as thedecimating processing, the interpolation processing or the like.Therefore, it is possible to change the picture size by opticallyenlarging and reducing the original picture in size without forging thevideo data as required by the attesting photograph.

While in this embodiment the video data is masked by the window based onthe cut signal BLNK, a window memory for storing only the video data inthe window provided based on the cut signal BLNK may be provided todisplay the video data of the window memory on the monitor 2 and toprint the same by the printer 3.

The following effects can be achieved by the present invention.

The video processing apparatus according to the present inventionincludes the imaging means for imaging an object through the opticalsystem to obtain an electric signal through conversion and outputtingthe signal as the video data, the display means for displaying a pictureof the video data in a predetermined picture frame, the printing meansfor printing the picture in the picture frame of the video data, theprint size selecting means for selecting a print size of the picture tobe printed by the printing means, the pixel-number determining means fordetermining the number of pixels of the video data corresponding to theprint size selected by the print size selecting means, and the videodata processing means for processing the video data based on the numberof pixels determined by the above pixel-number determining means so thatthe pixels of the video data output from the imaging means should be inone-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the video data printed bythe printing means. Therefore, since, the size of the picture frame isselected regardless of conditions of the printing means and so on andthereby the picture size is selected with confirmation of the picturerange using the display means to thereby prevent the original picturefrom being subjected to the video processing such as the decimatingprocessing, the interpolation processing or the like, it is possible toobtain a printed picture having an optional size without forging thevideo data as requested by the attesting photograph. Since in the videoprocessing apparatus according to the present invention the pixel-numberdetermining means determines the number of horizontal-direction pixelsbased on the head density of the printing means, it is possible toobtain the printed picture having the size of the optional number ofhorizontal-direction pixels without forging the original video data.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention the pixel-number determining means determines the number ofvertical-direction pixels based on the transmission system of the videodata, it is possible to obtain the printed picture having the size ofthe optional number of vertical-direction pixels without forging theoriginal video data.

Since the video processing apparatus according to the present inventionis provided with the horizontal and vertical cutting means 39 forcutting the picture of the video data in the horizontal direction or thevertical direction based on the number of pixels determined by thepixel-number determining means to thereby generate the picture framecorresponding to the above number of pixels on the monitor 2 as thedisplay means, it is possible to confirm the printing rangecorresponding to the number of pixels on the displaying means.

Since the video processing apparatus according to the present inventionis provided with the horizontal and vertical cutting means for cuttingthe picture of the video data in the horizontal direction or thevertical direction based on the number of pixels determined by thepixel-number determining means to thereby print the picturecorresponding to the number of pixels in the printing means, it ispossible to permit the printing means to print the picture correspondingto the number of pixels.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention the video processing means uses the same sampling frequencyfor sampling the pixels of the video data output from the imaging meansand sampling the pixels of the video data to be printed by the printingmeans, it is possible to sample the pixels of the video data so that thepixels of the video data output from the imaging means should reliablybe in one-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the video data to beprinted by the printing means.

Since the video processing apparatus according to the present inventiondecimates the pixels of the video data displayed on the display means ina predetermined ratio relative to the video data obtained by the imagepickup of the imaging means, it is possible to use the display meanshaving lower resolution as compared with that of the printing means,only for use in confirmation of the printing range of the picture.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention the print size selecting means directly sets values by inputusing the key, it is possible to set the print size based on the valuesdirectly selected and set by the operator.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention the print size selecting means selects one from a plurality ofpreset values, it is possible to set the print size based on theselectively set values indicative of a specific size or the like.

Since in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention the imaging means has the zooming function for adjusting thezooming operation of the optical system, it is not necessary to subjectthe original picture to the video processing such as the decimatingprocessing, the interpolation processing or the like. Therefore, it ispossible to change the picture size by optically enlarging and reducingthe original picture in size without forging the video data as requiredby the attesting photograph.

The printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printingapparatus for printing an image based on a source video data on aprinting paper, and includes a storage means for storing said sourcevideo data, a reading means for reading a video image stored in thestorage means, a printing means for printing the images based on thevideo data read out by the above reading means on the printing paper,and a control means for controlling the reading means and the printingmeans so that the pixels of the source video data should be inone-to-one correspondence with the pixels of the video data to beprinted on the printing paper. Therefore, there can be achieved aneffect in which the printed picture having an arbitrary size can beobtained without forging the original video data.

Since the printing apparatus according to the present invention includesthe head drive means for driving the head for printing the aboveread-out video data on the printing paper and the paper feeding meansfor mechanically conveying the printing paper relative to the head,there can be achieved an effect in which the picture having thehorizontal and vertical direction sizes corresponding to the pixels ofthe video data can be printed by the head drive means and the paperfeeding means.

Since in the printing apparatus according to the present invention thecontrolling means controls the read sampling frequency of the readingmeans and the paper feed pitch in response to the head density of thehead, there can be achieved an effect in which the picture having thevertical direction size corresponding to the pixels of the video datacan be printed.

Since the printing apparatus according to the present invention furtherincludes the print size selecting means for selecting the print size ofthe image to be printed on the printing paper and the above controllingmeans controls the read sampling frequency of the reading means and thepaper feed pitch in response to the print size selected by the printsize selecting means, there can be achieved an effect in which thepicture having the horizontal- and vertical-direction size correspondingto the print size can be printed.

Since the printing apparatus according to the present invention furtherincludes the print size selecting means for selecting the print size ofthe image to be printed on the printing paper and the above controllingmeans determines, in response to the print size selected by the printsize selecting means, the number of pixels of the video data to beprinted on the printing paper and controls the read sampling frequencyof the reading means and the paper feed pitch in response to thedetermined number of pixels and the head density of the head, there canbe achieved an effect in which the picture having the horizontal- andvertical-direction size in response to the horizontal-direction pixelsof the video data corresponding to the print size can be printed.

Since the printing apparatus according to the present invention furtherincludes the print size selecting means for selecting the print size ofthe image to be printed on the printing paper and the above controllingmeans determines, in response to the print size selected by the printsize selecting means and to the transmission system of the source videodata, the number of pixels of the video data to be printed on theprinting paper and controls the read sampling frequency of the readingmeans and the paper feed pitch in response to the determined number ofpixels and the head density of the head, there can be achieved an effectin which the picture having the horizontal- and vertical-direction sizein response to the horizontal-direction pixels of the video datacorresponding to the print size can be printed.

A video processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention will hereinafter be described.

The video processing apparatus according to this embodiment is to beutilized for taking the attesting photograph such as IVP (instant videoportrait) in a no man's photobooth or a studio. Particularly, in thefield of the attesting photograph, the size of the attesting photographof, for example, the passport is often required to be the verticallyelongated size. Therefore, the video camera is usually positioned to berotated by 90° so that the picture rotated by 90° may be photographed.Subsequently, the monitor is positioned to be rotated backward by 90°,for causing the monitor to display a vertically elongated picture.However, since the on-screen display for controlling the printer isdisplayed in the scanning line direction, that is, the verticaldirection of the monitor, it is hard for the operator to read theon-screen display. Therefore, the present embodiment is arranged so thatthe printing operation of the attesting photograph of the passport inevery country may easily performed by preparing the 90°-rotation fontagainst a normal font to provide a function for causing the verticallyelongated monitor to display the on-screen display in the horizontaldirection.

A monitor 2 displays the picture together with the on-screen displaywhich indicates a message text and setting control items for theprinting operation. At this time, the on-screen display displayed on themonitor 2 is displayed in the horizontal direction of the monitor. Inthis way, it is arranged that the on-screen display is make easy to beread even in the case of the vertically elongated monitor 2.

The video processing apparatus as constructed above will work by thefollowing operations. First of all, the operator selects the menu screenof the on-screen display displayed on the monitor 2 to input the printsize of the attesting photograph by using the key 6 of the printer 3. Inthis case, it is possible to set up the print size in a millimeter unitin both vertical/horizontal directions. As shown in FIG. 9, in the menuscreen for setting the print size (WINDOW SETUP), it is possible tosetup the print size between 16 and 51 mm in the vertical (H) andhorizontal (V) direction of the monitor 8, respectively. In this regard,for example, the operator sets up the print size of 51 mm in therespective vertical (H) and horizontal (V) directions, which is thepassport size of U.S.A., and also the desired number of piece of three.

Then, the camera 1 images a subject and supplies the picture data of RGBto the monitor 2. The monitor 2 displays the picture of the subjectbased on that picture data. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the monitor 2displays the window 61 indicating the picture 60 and the set-up printsize, the menu screen (WINDOW SETUP) for setting up the print size shownin FIG. 9, described above as the on-screen display, and the settingitems 63 set up thereby. In this case, both the menu screen (WINDOWSETUP) 62 for setting the print size and the setting items 22 aredisplayed simultaneously with the picture 20, whereas it may be possiblethat the menu screen (WINDOW SETUP) for setting the print size and thepicture 20 are displayed first, and after the setting has been decidedthe setting items 22 and the picture 20 are displayed sequentially. Inthis context, for other examples of the on-screen display, there are amenu display for setting color (COLOR ADJUST), etc. which is importantwhen adjusting flesh color or quality of picture of the subject by printdata of the printer YMC, light and shade, sharpness or the like, of themenu display for setting operation of the printer.

The setting items 22 are displayed as follows. X=51 mm indicates ahorizontal breadth of the picture 20 printed, Y=51 mm indicates avertical length of the picture, 2PCS/PRINT indicates that two pieces ofpicture can be taken from one sheet of print paper and QTY=2 indicatesthat two pieces are printed in total, respectively. Accordingly, ifthree pieces of print are desired. It is enough to print two sheets. Theoperator checks whether or not the setting items 22 set up along themenu screen (WINDOW SETUP) for setting the print size are displayed ashe views the monitor 2. In this case, such an operation will be carriedout in which the 90°-rotation font rotated by 90° against normal font(not shown) is read out for causing the on-screen display to bedisplayed on the monitor 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the video processing apparatus according to thisembodiment has the following arrangement. The key 6 includes a keycontroller, not shown, for generating a control signal to control theon-screen display by the 90°-rotated font.

In order to generate a control signal for selecting between theon-screen displays by the normal font or the 90°-rotation font in thekey 6, two respective keys for selecting between the on-screen displaysby the normal font or the 90°-rotation font may be provided in the key6. Alternatively, it may be possible to select between the on-screendisplays by the normal font or the 90°-rotation font by continuouslypressing a single key in the key 6, or the selected state may bedisplayed in the display unit 7 by a incrementing manner. Further, it ispossible to input by the key 6, for example, the various setting itemsof he picture data, etc. in the size setting menu of the on-screendisplay for setting the print size by the printer 3.

As shown in FIG. 10 described later on, the system controller 49includes a font ROM 100 for storing the 90°-rotation font, a charactergenerator 103 for generating the characters by reading the 90°-rotationfont, and a main flow controller unit 106 for performing a main flowchart which controls an operation for the on-screen display of the fontROM 100 and the character generator 103 based on the control signal fromthe key controller.

Here, the camera 1 constitutes the imaging means for imaging a subjectthrough the optical system to convert the image into an electricalsignal for outputting it as picture data. The memory 32 constitutes thestorage means for storing the picture data. The system controller 49constitutes the character data generator means for generating thecharacter data connected with the picture data control. The monitor 2constitutes the display means for displaying the picture of the picturedata stored in the memory 32 and the characters of the character datagenerated by the system controller 12. The printer 3 constitutes theprinter means for printing the picture displayed on the monitor 2 basedon the character data. Further, the system controller 49 has a junctionwhich rotates the characters against the picture when the picture andthe characters are displayed on the monitor 2. particularly, the systemcontroller 49 has the function which rotates the characters against thepicture by 90° in a predetermined direction, when the image of thesubject is rotated by 90° in a predetermined direction by the camera 1and the display of the picture and the characters in the monitor 2 isrotated by 90° in the opposite direction to the predetermined direction.

Next, an operation of the on-screen display performed by the90°-rotation font will be described. In such a basic operation, when theoperator specifies the on-screen display controlled by the 90°-rotationfont using the key 6, the key controller supplies to the systemcontroller 49 the control signal for the on-screen display by the90°-rotation font. The main flow controller unit 106 of the systemcontroller 49 reads a control software of the 90°-rotation font which isused exclusively for displaying the on-screen display by the90°-rotation font in a on-screen display processing in an operationbased on the main flow. Then, the main flow controller unit 106 suppliesto the character generator 103 a control signal such a that thecharacters by the 90°-rotation font are generated according to the90°-rotation font control software. The character generator 103 suppliesan address signal tot he font ROM 100 based on an address table by thecontrol signal. Thus, the character generator 103 reads the 90°-rotationfont to generate 90 degrees rotated character data.

The 90 degrees rotated character data generated by the charactergenerator 103 are supplied to the character mixer circuit 38. Thecharacter mixer circuit 38 mixes the picture data supplied from D/Aconverter 37 with the character data supplied from the charactergenerator 103. In this way, the monitor 2 displays the picture and thecharacters of the on-screen display. In this case, in the charactermixer circuit 38, for example, the character data are multiplexed in theform of an analogue RGB signal allocated in a portion of the verticalblanking period which is a temporal gap of an image signal forming thepicture data.

At this time, if the picture size is set by the key 6 on the basis ofthe on-screen display of the size setting menu screen displayed on themonitor 2, the key controller supplies the picture size setting signalto the system controller 49. The system controller 49 supplies thepicture size setting signal to the CPU 34. The CPU 34 reads out thecontrol data from the memory 35 and generates the picture size settingsignal and the signal required for generating the window based on thecontrol data. The CPU 34 supplies the picture size setting signal andthe signal required for generating the window to the memory controller33. The memory controller 33 generates the window signal based on thesesignals and at the same time controls so that only the picture withinthe window may be output to the monitor 2 and the printer 3.

When the operator presses the key 6 to specify the printing out, sinceonly the picture within the window is supplied to the head controller 43of the printer 3 according to the window signal produced by the memorycontroller 17, only the print data in a one to one correspondence withthe picture quarried by the window displayed in the monitor 2 issupplied to the head 44. This enables the proper size of print to beprinted out by altering the window size through the key 6 based on thehorizontal on-screen display of the vertically elongated monitor 2,thereby specifying the print size and causing the picture size to bealtered correspondingly to the specified window size.

The video processing apparatus according to the present embodimentdescribed above comprises the camera 1 for imaging the subject throughthe optical system to convert the image into the electrical signal foroutputting it as the picture data, the memory 32 for storing the picturedata, the system controller 49 for generating the character dataconnected with controlling the picture data, the monitor 2 fordisplaying the picture of the picture data, the monitor 2 for displayingthe picture of the picture data stored in the memory 32 and thecharacters of the character data generated by the system controller 49,and the printer 3 doe printing the picture displayed in the monitor 2based ont on the character data, wherein the characters rotated againstthe picture are displayed when the picture and the characters aredisplayed on the monitor 2, so that it is possible to rotate the displayof the characters connected with printing correspondingly to thedirection of the picture, whereby enabling the operability to beimproved by generating the character in such a direction that theoperator can read them easily.

Moreover, in the video processing apparatus according to the presentembodiment described above, since the system controller 49 is arrangedto make the characters to be rotated against the picture by 90° in thepredetermined direction in the monitor 2, when the image of the subjectby the camera 1 is rotated by 90° in the predetermined direction andthen the display of the picture and the characters by the monitor 2 isrotated by 90° in the opposite direction to the predetermined direction,it is possible to display in the horizontal direction the charactersforming the on-screen display connected with printing when thevertically elongated picture is displayed in the display meanspositioned to be vertically elongated, thereby allowing the operabilityto be improved.

Furthermore, more particularly, the functional block of the on-screendisplay of the system controller shown in FIG. 3 is constructed, forexample, as shown in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the system controller 49comprises the font ROM 100 in which data of, for example, alphabet orcharacter pattern of each country of Europe are stored, the charactergenerator 103 for generating the character data by reading the characterpattern stored in the font ROM 100, and the main flow controller unit106 for controlling the on-screen display based on the main operationflow. The font ROM 100 includes the normal font 101 for forming thecharacters in the scanning line direction of the monitor, and the90°-rotation font 102 for forming the characters in the directionrotated by 90° relative to the scanning line direction of the monitor.

Here, the construction of the normal font is shown in FIG. 11, thenormal font 110 is comprised of, for example, 8 dots in the verticaldirection and 5 dots in the horizontal direction. Each dot in thevertical direction is constructed so as to correspond to direction ofeight scanning lines 111. In contrast, the construction of the90°-rotation font is shown in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12, the 90°-rotation font121 is comprised of, for example, 8 dots in the vertical direction and 5dots in the horizontal direction. Each dot in the horizontal directionis constructed so as to correspond to direction of five scanning lines121. In other words, the normal font 110 is constructed so that a ratioof the vertical length and the horizontal length in each dot may be 3:4correspondingly to a ratio 3:4, the ratio of the vertical length and thehorizontal length of the usual monitor horizontally elongated, whereasthe 90°-rotation font 120 is constructed so that the radio of thevertical length and the horizontal length in each dot may be 4:3correspondingly to a ratio 4:3, the ratio of the vertical length and thehorizontal length of the 90°-rotated, thus vertically elongated monitor.Therefore, the normal font 110 is comparatively elongated in thehorizontal direction, whereas the 90°-rotation font 120 is comparativelyelongated in the vertical direction.

The character generator 103 includes the character generator unit 104for generating the character data, and the font address generator unit105 for generating an address to access the normal font 101 or the90°-rotation font 102 based ont eh address table. The main flowcontroller unit 106 comprises an on-screen display control unit 107controlling the processing of the on-screen display during the main flowoperation which controls various operations, a normal font controlsoftware 108 for generating the characters in the scanning linedirection of the monitor, and a 90°-rotation font control software 109for generating the character in the direction rotated by 90° against thescanning line direction of the monitor.

In this regard, the on-screen display control unit 107 constitutes atiming generator unit for generating various timing signals relating tothe screen display from the horizontal/vertical synchronizing signalsand a display clock. The character generator unit 104 constitutes aconverter section for converting the character data read out of the fontROM 100 synchronously with the horizontal/vertical synchronizing signalinto the analogue RGB signal.

The normal font control software 108 has a function which makeson-screen display control unit 107 to control so as to generate varioustiming signals relating to the screen display by the normal font fromthe horizontal/vertical synchronizing signal and the display clock,makes the font address generator unit 105 to generate the address inwhich the normal font is stored based on the address table so as to readthe normal font 101, and makes the character generator unit 104 to readthe character data of the normal font synchronously with thehorizontal/vertical synchronizing signal and to convert them into theanalogue RGB signal for forming the characters in the scanning linedirection of the horizontally elongated monitor.

Also, the 90°-rotation font control software 109 has a function whichmakes the on-screen display control unit 107 to control so as togenerate various timing signals relating to the screen display by the90°-rotation font from the horizontal/vertical synchronizing signal andthe display clock, makes the font address generator unit 105 to generatethe address in which the 90°-rotation font is stored based on theaddress table so as to read the 90°-rotation font 102, and makes thecharacter generator unit 104 to read the character data of the90°-rotation font synchronously with the horizontal/verticalsynchronizing signal and to convert them into the analogue RGB signalfor forming the characters in the direction rotated by 90° against thescanning line direction of the vertically elongated monitor.

The functional block for the on-screen display of the system controllerconstructed in this manner operates as follows. First of all, theoperation of the on-screen display by the normal font will be described.By inputting through the key 6, the control signal for the on-screendisplay by the normal font is supplied from the key controller to themain flow controller unit 106. Then, the normal font control software108 operates. In other words, by the normal font control software 108,the respective parts are controlled to operate as follows. The on-screendisplay control unit 107 generates the various timing signals relatingto the on-screen display by the normal font from the horizontal/verticalsynchronizing signal and the display clock. These timing signals aresupplied to the character generator 103. Then, the font addressgenerator unit 105 of the character generator 103 generates the addressin which the normal font is stored based on the address table forreading the normal font 101 out of the font ROM 100. Also, the charactergenerator unit 104 operates to read the character data of the normalfont synchronously with the horizontal/vertical synchronizing signal andto convert them into the analogue signal for forming the characters inthe scanning line direction of the horizontally elongated monitor.

In this way, the on-screen display 131 is displayed in the scanning line(horizontal) direction in the monitor 130 horizontally elongated as isshown in FIG. 13A. In this case, in the monitor 140 vertically elongatedas shown in FIG. 14A, the on-screen display 141 is displayed in thescanning line (vertical) direction together with the picture 45.

Next, the operation of the on-screen display by the 90°-rotation fontwill be described. By inputting through the key 6, the control signalfor the on-screen display by the 90°-rotation font is supplied from thekey controller to the main flow controller unit 106. Then, the90°-rotation font control software 109 operates. In other words, by the90°-rotation font control software 109, the respective parts arecontrolled to operate as follows. The on-screen display control unit 107generates the various timing signals relating to the on-screen displayby the 90°-rotation font from the horizontal/vertical synchronizingsignal and the display clock. These timing signals are supplied to thecharacter generator 103. Then, the font address generator unit 105 ofthe character generator 103 generates the address in which the90°-rotation font is stored based on the address table for reading the90°-rotation font 102. The character generator unit 104 operates to readthe character data of the 90°-rotation font synchronously with thehorizontal/vertical synchronizing signal and to convert them into theanalogue signal for forming the characters in the direction rotated by90° against the scanning line direction of the vertically elongatedmonitor.

In this may, the on-screen display 133 is displayed in the (horizontal)direction rotated by 90° against the scanning line direction on themonitor 132 vertically elongated as is shown in FIG. 13B. In this case,on the monitor 142 vertically elongated as shown in FIG. 14B, theon-screen display 145 is displayed in the horizontal direction rotatedby 90° against the scanning line direction together with the picture144.

Since the character data can thus be generated correspondingly to any ofthe normal font or the 90°-rotation font by the control signal forselecting the font supplied from the key controller due to the inputthrough the key 6, it is possible to produce arbitrarily the on-screendisplay connected with the control of printing the attesting photographfor the passport of each country.

In the above example, while the embodiment has been described in which,when the 90 degrees rotated picture is imaged by positioning in advancethe video camera to be rotated by 90° and then positioning the monitorto be rotated backward by 90° so as to display the vertically elongatedpicture, the 90 degrees so as to display the vertically elongatedpicture, the 90°-rotation font relative to the normal font is providedfor displaying the on-screen display for controlling the printer in thehorizontal direction of the vertically elongated monitor, for example,if the camera is used in the usual horizontally elongated position, itis sufficient that the normal font is sued for the on-screen display.Also, if the camera is used in the normal position and only the monitoris rotated by 90° to be in the vertically elongated position, it issufficient to use the 90°-rotation font.

Moreover, in the above example, while the embodiment which is used forthe attesting photograph has been described, the present invention isapplicable to, for example, printing the portrait on a calling card orprinting the vertically elongated picture on various prepaid cards orcredit cards such as the telephone card. Furthermore, the presentinvention is not limited to the field of the attesting photograph of thepassport or the like, it can be utilized for a photographic analysis ofa golf swing, etc. and for photographing in a recreational facilities.

In addition, in the video processing apparatus according to theabove-mentioned embodiment, since the system controller 49 has the90°-rotation font in which the characters displayed on the monitor 2 arerotated by 90° against the scanning line direction of the monitor 2, thevertically elongated font which is exclusively used for displaying thecharacters forming the on-screen display connected with printing in thehorizontal direction can be provided when the vertically elongatedpicture is displayed in the vertically elongated monitor 2, therebyenabling the on-screen display to be displayed within an effectivedisplay area in the vertically elongated monitor 2.

Again, in the video processing apparatus according to the presentembodiment described above, since the system controller 49 includes boththe 90°-rotation font in which the characters displayed on the monitor 2is rotated by 90° against the scanning line direction of the monitor 2and the normal font to be switched therebetween correspondingly to therespective positions of the camera 1 and the monitor 2, it is possibleto display the characters forming the on-screen display connected withprinting in the horizontal direction by only adding a simpleconstruction for only changing the font address in parallel to theconstruction for reading the normal font, without adding any othercontroller for another control system which rotates the normal font by90°, and by switching between the case where the horizontally elongatedpicture is displayed in the normal horizontally elongated monitor 2 andthe case where the vertically elongated picture is displayed in thevertically elongated monitor 2.

Also, in the video processing apparatus according to the presentembodiment described above, since the character data generated by thesystem controller 49 are the control items for printing of the printer3, the control items for making the printer 3 to perform the printing ismade easy to be read, which in turn leads to the improvement of itsoperability.

The following effects can be achieved by the present invention.

The video processing apparatus according to the present inventioncomprises the imaging means for imaging the subject through the opticalsystem to convert the image into the electrical signal for outputting itas the picture data, the storage means for storing the picture data, thecharacter data generator means for generating the character dataconnected with controlling the picture data, the display means fordisplaying the picture of the picture data stored in the storage meansand the characters of the character data generated by the character datagenerating means, and the printer means for printing the picturedisplayed in the display means according to the character data, whereinthe characters are rotated against the picture for display when thepicture and rotated against the picture for display when the picture andthe characters are displayed in the display means, so that it ispossible to rotate the display of the characters connected with printingcorrespondingly to the picture direction, thereby causing the charactersto be formed in the direction where the operator can easily red them,which in turn leads to the advantageous effect of the operabilityimprovement. Moreover, in the video processing apparatus according tothe present invention described above, since, when the image of thesubject by the imaging means is rotated in the predetermined directionby 90° and then the display of the picture and the characters by thedisplay means is rotated in the direction opposite to the predetermineddirection by 90°, the character data generator means is arranged to makethe characters to be rotated against the picture in the predetermineddirection by 90° for display in the display means, it is possible todisplay the characters forming the on-screen display connected withprinting in the horizontal direction when displaying the verticallyelongated picture in the vertically elongated display means, whichresults in the advantageous effect of the operability improvement.

Furthermore, in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention described above, since the character data generator meansincludes the 90 degrees against the scanning line direction of thedisplay means, it is possible to provide the vertically elongated fontwhich is exclusively used for displaying the characters forming theon-screen display connected with printing in the horizontal direction,which in turn leads to the advantageous effect such that it is possibleto perform the on-screen display within the effective display area inthe vertically elongated display means.

Also, in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention described above, since the character data generator meansincludes both the 90°-rotation font in which the characters displayed inthe display means is rotated by 90° against the scanning line directionof the display means and the normal font, thereby allowing the90°-rotation font and the normal font to be switched therebetweencorrespondingly to the respective positions of the imaging means and thedisplay means, the advantageous effect is obtained, in which it ispossible to display the characters forming the on-screen displayconnected with printing in the horizontal direction by only adding thesimple construction for only changing the font address in parallel tothe construction for only changing the font address to the constructionfor reading the normal font without adding any other controller foranother control system which rotates the normal font by 90° and byswitching between the case where the horizontally elongated picture isdisplayed in the normal horizontally elongated display means and thecase where the vertically elongated picture is displayed in thevertically elongated display means.

Again, in the video processing apparatus according to the presentinvention described above, since the character data generated by thecharacter data generator means are the control items for the printing ofthe printer means and these control items for causing the printer of theprinter means and these control items for causing the printer means toperform the printing is made easy to be read, the advantageous effect isobtained, in which the operability can be improved.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The video processing apparatus of the above embodiments can be used forthe attesting photograph such as IVP (instant video portrait) in aphotobooth with no clerk or a studio.

What is claimed is:
 1. A video processing apparatus comprising: animaging means for imaging an object through an optical system to obtainan electric signal through conversion and outputting a signal as a videodata; a display means for displaying a picture of said video data in apredetermined picture frame; a printing means for printing the picturein said picture frame of said video data; a print size selecting meansfor selecting a print size of the picture to be printed by said printingmeans; a pixel-number determining means for determining the number ofpixels of said video data corresponding to the print size selected bysaid print size selecting means; and a video data processing means forprocessing said video data based on the number of pixels determined bysaid pixel-number determining means so that the pixels of said videodata output from said imaging means should be in one-to-onecorrespondence with the pixels of said video data printed by saidprinting means and so that the number of pixels of said video dataoutput from said imaging means is the same as the number of pixels ofsaid video data printed by said printing means, wherein saidpixel-number determining means determines the number ofvertical-direction pixels based on a transmission system of said videodata.
 2. A video processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidpixel-number determining means determines the number ofhorizontal-direction pixels based on the head density of said printingmeans.
 3. A video processing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a horizontal and vertical cutting means for cutting thepicture of said video data in the horizontal direction or the verticaldirection based on the number of pixels determined by said pixel-numberdetermining means to thereby generate a picture frame corresponding tosaid number of pixels on said display means.
 4. A video processingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a horizontal andvertical cutting means for cutting the picture of said video data in thehorizontal direction or the vertical direction based on the number ofpixels determined by said pixel-number determining means to therebyprint an image corresponding said number of pixels by said printingmeans.
 5. A video processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid video data processing means uses the same sampling frequency forsampling the pixels of said video data output from said imaging meansand for sampling the pixels of said video data to be printed by saidprinting means.
 6. A video processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the pixels of said video data displayed on said display meansare decimated in a predetermined ratio relative to the video dataobtained by the image pickup of said imaging means.
 7. A videoprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said print sizeselecting means directly sets values by input using a key.
 8. A videoprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said print sizeselecting means selects one from a plurality of preset values.
 9. Avideo apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said imaging means has azooming function for adjusting the zooming operation of said opticalsystem.
 10. A printing apparatus for printing an image based on a sourcevideo data on a printing paper, comprising: a storage means for storingsaid source video data; a reading means for reading a video image storedin said storage means; a printing means for printing an image based onthe video data read out by said reading means on said printing paper; aprint size selecting means for selecting a print size of an image to beprinted on said printing paper; and a control means for controlling saidreading means and said printing means so that pixels of said sourcevideo data should be in one-to-one correspondence with pixels of thevideo data to be printed on said printing paper and so that the numberof pixels of the read video data is the same as the number of pixels ofsaid video data to be printed on said printing paper, wherein saidcontrol means determines, in response to the print size selected by saidprint size selecting means and a transmission system of said sourcevideo data, the number of pixels of a video data to be printed on saidprinting paper.
 11. A printing apparatus according to claim 10, whereinsaid printing means comprises a head drive means for driving a head forprinting said read-out video data on the printing paper and a paperfeeding means for mechanically conveying said printing paper relative tosaid head.
 12. A printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein saidcontrol means controls a read sampling frequency of said reading meansin response to the head density of the head.
 13. A printing apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein said control means controls a readsampling frequency of said reading means and a paper feed pitch of saidpaper feeding means in response to a head density of said head.
 14. Aprinting apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising: a printsize selecting means for selecting a print size of an image to beprinted on said printing paper, wherein said controlling means controlsa read sampling frequency of said reading means and a paper feed pitchof said paper feeding means in response to the print size selected bysaid print size selecting means.
 15. A printing apparatus according toclaim 10, further comprising: a print size selecting means for selectinga print size of an image to be printed on said printing paper, whereinsaid controlling means determines, in response to the print sizeselected by said print size selecting means, the number of pixels of avideo data to be printed on said printing paper and controls a readsampling frequency of said reading means and a paper feed pitch of saidpaper feeding means in response to the determined number of pixels and ahead density of said head.
 16. A printing apparatus according to claim10, further comprising: wherein said control means controls a readsampling frequency of said reading means and a paper feed pitch of saidpaper feeding means in response to the determined number of pixels and ahead density of said head.